Tagged by @colleybri and @faceofpoe, thank you both for the tags!
How did you get into writing fanfiction?
Weirdly I wrote fanfic before I even knew what it was. I wrote a bunch of Star Trek: Voyager stories when I was a kid (that thankfully never saw the light of the world wide web) just for fun. When I was a teenager I went through a Pirates of the Caribbean phase and picked up a POTC magazine at a store. One of the articles in it mentioned fanfiction and the site ff dot net. So, naturally I looked this up and a whole new world opened up to me. I've never been the same since xD
How many fandoms have you written in?
Oh boy...are we talking officially or unofficially? Because there are many unpublished or archived fics out there. I think on Ao3 I've written for 16 fandoms (counting all the Star Wars, Star Trek and GoT/ASoIaF disambiguations as separate fandoms). There's probably a few other fandoms from my FF dot net days as well (I can think of at least two) that I don't write for anymore. So I'll say around 20.
How many years have you been writing fanfiction?
Counting from that initial discovery of fanfiction in the POTC magazine, about 17 years (I don't really count the ones I wrote when I was a little kid). I've been posting it online for 13.
Do you read or write more fanfiction?
It depends! Sometimes if I get really into a new piece of media I will be seeking out fics to read as much (or more than) writing my own. And then other times I pull back because I'm writing more and focused on that. When I'm writing more fic I tend to read less because I want to avoid writing something that's too close to a fic that's already out there. I know there's the "two cakes" saying, but it's something I still try to avoid.
What is one way you've improved as a writer?
I think I've improved my sentence structure a lot. I used to write a lot of long, detailed sentences that were intent on ensuring that nothing was left out. I still do this on occasion, but I'm getting better at it. Reading more and using editing tools has helped. I've also worked a lot at reducing my reliance on adverbs to convey severity, because it felt like a weak crutch. It was also something I saw pointed out in general writing advice that I then picked out in my own work. Still a work in progress, but it's something I catch more easily in edits now.
What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?
I looked up the name of a device used to measure brain activity. It's called an electroencephalogram (or EEG). I've also done way too much research on Chandrilan flora and fauna.
What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?
Long comments that call out specific passages in the story and explain why they're the reader's favourite. Know that if you've ever left a comment like this on one of my fics that I treasure it deeply.
What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?
Polyamory maybe? I think it's one that's common in fandom knowledge but I find the audience for fics that focus on it to be pretty small.
What is the hardest type of story for you to write?
Usually short ones. I have a bad habit of underestimating how long a story will be when I plan it out. I've done a bit better this year with some shorter stories. The longest thing I've written this year was under 7k, so that's some progress lol.
What is the easiest type?
Anything focusing on emotional angst or trauma. I love writing those types of stories that allow me to delve into emotional grittiness and examine the darker parts of a character. What's happened to them, how does it affect them, how does it impact their relationships? Those are all things I'm really interested in exploring.
Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?
Mainly on my computer, but I also take a lot of notes on my phone in a private discord. I use word for writing (I'm so used to it at this point tbh). When is a...complicated question. It really depends on when the motivation strikes. Unfortunately, that tends to happen in the wee hours of the morning so I end up being the equivalent of a cryptid hunched over my laptop at 3 am.
What is something you've been too intimidated/nervous to write, but would love to one day?
My own original works, which I am slowly prodding away at. Writing original stories is intimidating as hell. I have an idea for a novella I really want to write someday. There's many parts of it already full formed in my mind, but I am terrified to actually write it.
Fic-wise, I have an idea for a Mon Mothma-centric Andor novella/novel that I desperately want to write but I am very intimidated by. I have most of the plot beats figured out, but there's still a few things to iron out before I feel really ready to tackle it.
What made you choose your username?
This is always a hilarious question to me because I didn't put a lot of thought into this username when I chose it. It's from my original ff dot net account that I made over ten years ago. I was really interested in a lot of stuff regarding metaphorical rebirth and phoenix imagery, so that's where the phoenix part came in. I chose cerulean because blue is my favourite colour and I went looking for synonyms xD The 7 was just because I needed a number and I'd heard 7 was lucky. I've thought about changing it but I'm kind of attached to it now.
